Bed moving device

ABSTRACT

A combination bed and moving device utilizing an inclined surface supported, for example, by a steel frame or box, in combination with a rolling member, such as a ball castor, which is attached to a bed frame permitting movement of the rolling member on the inclined surface. The bed frame is moved up the inclined surface to a retention area where means are provided such as a depression or level area to retain the rolling member at the desired retention area. At the elevated retention area the bed frame can be easily rotated and moved about the axis of the attachment between the rolling member and the frame. A handle on the bed frame provides an easy means for respectively pushing and pulling the bed frame and attached rolling member up and down the inclined surface. The invention is particularly useful for raising and moving beds for purposes of cleaning under them, and also the rotation thereof to provide ease in changing the sheets.

United States Patent [191 Kurtz 1 July 17, 1973 1 BED MOVING DEVICE [76]Inventor: Kenneth J. Kurtz, 3151 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, Calif.

[22] Filed: Nov. 26, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 202,231

[52] U.S. Cl. 5/328 [51] Int. Cl. A47c 19/22 [58] Field of Search 5/12,l3, l7, 18,

[56] References Cited V UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,862,213 12/1958 9/1912Great Britain 5/328 Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney-GeorgeF. Bethel Sonnenburg et al. 5/328 [5 7 ABSTRACT A combination bed andmoving device utilizing an inclined surface supported, for example, by asteel frame or box, in combination with a rolling member, such as a ballcastor, which is attached to a bed frame permitting movement of therolling member on the inclined surface. The bed frame is moved up theinclined surface to a retention area where means are provided such as adepression or level area toretain the rolling member at the desiredretention area. At the elevated retention area the bed frame can beeasily rotated and moved about the axis of the attachment between therolling member and the frame. A handle on the bed frame provides an easymeans for respectively pushing and pulling the bed frame and attachedrolling member up and down the inclined surface. The invention isparticularly useful for raising and moving beds for purposes of cleaningunder them, and also the rotation thereof to provide ease in changingthe sheets.

12 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 'PAIENTEYDYJULWIQYS A 3,745.59?

I NVENTOR.

KENNETH J. KURTZ GEORGE F. BETHE L F I 4 ATTORNEY BED MOVING DEVICEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to the bed moving and rotating devices art.

2. Description of the Prior Art It has always been a problem,particularly in hotels and motels, to quickly and easily clean underbeds and change the sheets. Cleaning problems arise from the fact thatbeds are nromally about inches off the floor and upright vacuum cleanersrequire a higher clearance. The use of a tank-type of vacuum cleanerrequires the operator to get down on hands and knees or lower to vacuumunder a bed. Furthermore, changing of bed sheets has always beendifficult because it requires one to walk around the bed at least onetime for each sheet, blanket and bed spread to be put on. With theadvent of king size beds, these problems have been increased. King sizebeds are not only larger than the double beds but also are considerablyheavier and harder to move about.

It can be appreciated that if the duties of cleaning under beds and bedmaking could be simplified and speeded up that considerable cost savingscould be had for motels and hotels, not to mention convenience and timesavings for the average housewife. This invention has overcome theforegoing difficulties of cleaning and bed changing by providing aneasily operated device to move beds and rotate them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above desirable aspects have now beenembodied in a novel, combination device which is simple, light weight,economical and easy to install. Specifically, this 3 invention isembodied in the novel combination of a bed and a moving devicecomprising an inclined surface with means for supporting the inclinedsurface, such as, for example, a box or metal frame. A rolling member,such as a castor, designed for travel along the inclined surface isattached to the bed frame by means of a connector, such as a rod.

In operation, the bed frame and bed are rolled by means of the rollingmember up the inclined surface where a retaining means, for example alevel area or depression retains the rolling member by keeping it fromrolling back down the inclined surface. At this point the bed and bedframe are raised sufficiently to permit cleaning thereunder as well asin its former adjacent relationship to a wall. If desired, the bed andframe can be easily rotated in either direction to permit a person tochange sheets and bedding while standing in one position since access toall sides of the bed is made possible by the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be more clearlyunderstood by reference to the description, taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a raised, perspective view of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially fragmented, cross section of the invention takenon line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 and is a partially fragmented cross sectionof the invention showing the rolling member in a different position;

FIG. 4 is a cross section of the invention taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1 thereis shown a bed 10 supported in a bed frame 12 having sides 13 and 14 andfeet 15 at each corner and a handle 16. A cross-bar I7 is attached tothe sides 13 of the bed frame 12 by means of screws 18 at a pointapproximately midway between the ends 14. In the middle of the cross-bar16 is a castor (which is not shown in FIG. 1) attached to the crossbarby means of a connector such as a rod or tubular member 20, and amounting means 22 formed as a collar welded to the bar 17 into which therod 20 threads into. The mounting means can comprise a bolt, a rivet orwelded securement. Enclosing the castor from view in FIG. 1 is a box 24,shown in greater detail in FIG. 2.

The box has a base 26, a front wall 28 and back wall 30. The base 26 caninclude a projection 27 which extends beyond the back wall 30. Thefunction of the projection 27 is to prevent back tipping of the deviceduring use.

An inclined surface 32 extends from the base of the front wall 28 to apoint near the top of the back wall 30 where there is a depression orgroove 34 which serves to hold the castor 36 in the elevated position.The retention area comprising the depression 34 can be formedalternatively as a knob to prevent the castor 36 from sliding backwardlydown the inclined surface 32.

A top plate 38 having a central slot 40 extends from the top of thefront wall 28 to the top of the back wall 30 and is spaced from inclinedsurface 32. FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the top plate 38 with anunderlying castor 36. The slot 40 is for guide purposes and can be ofany suitable walled configuration as long as it guides the member 20 inits travel along the inclined surface.

Referring more specifically to FIG. 2, the castor 36 is shown in detail.As shown, the tubular member 20 is attached to the frame 12 by themounting means 22. The tubular member can comprise a tube 21 whichtelescopes over a shank 42 providing length ad-justment. Tighteningmeans 44 in axial relationship holds the tubular member 21 and the shank42 in a fixed longitudinal re-lationship. It should be understood thatvarious types of castors can be used. Furthermore, the member 20 can berotated at its attachment point to frame member 17 or at the castor.

An alternative embodiment of this invention shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,incorporates an inclined surface having a concave or hemisphericallydepressed cross section. A base 64 beneath the surface 60 is utilized tohold the surface in place. A raised area or knob 66 is shown to retainthe castor 36 in an elevated position after it has been rolled to thetop of the surface 60.

Thus, a guide means for the castor 36 is provided by the concave crosssection, which curves upwardly.

In operation, the handle 16 is grasped by the operator and pulled,causing the bed 10 and frame 12 by means of the castor 36 to roll up theinclined surface 32 or 60. When the castor 36 reaches the retention areaor depression 34, it is held from rolling back down the inclined surface32. This position is shown in FIGS. 3, 4,

and 5. In this position, the bed is raised off the floor permittingaccess to the area beneath the bed, as well as any previously adjacentwalls. At the same time, the bed and frame 12 can be rotated in eitherdirection or made to revolve completely around the axis provided bymember 20. Thus, access can be had to any desired part of the bed forpurposes of changing linen and the like.

When it is desired to return the bed 10 to its original position, thebed 10 by means of the handle 16 is simply pushed out of the groove 34down the inclined surface 32. The slot 40 acts as a guide means to keepthe castor 36 moving in a straight direction. In lieu thereof, otherguide means can be employed such as a track or groove running the lengthof the inclined surface 32. Also, the inclined surface itself can act asthe guide means such as when the inclined surface has a generally curvedcross section as that of FIGS. 6 and 7.

Similarly, while a ball castor is shown as the rolling means other typesof castors can be employed as well as wheels and rollers. The ballcastor is preferred because it provides ease in rolling and pivoting.Other types of castors can'be made to pivot on their rollers or wheelsor as previously stated a pivot means can be provided at the point wherethe member 20 is joined to the roller or to the bed frame.

Other types of retaining means can be resorted to in place of the grooveor depression 34 shown in FIGS. 2 through 4. For example, a levelsurface at the top of the inclined surface would serve to retain therolling means in place and can be augmented, if desired, by one or morelow ridges to prevent the rolling means from rolling off the inclinedsurface entirely.

As mentioned supra, the function of the projection 27 is to prevent theinclined surface and supporting box from the possibility of tippingover. Such a provision is not necessary to the invention as it will beapparent that many other types of support means can be resorted to.Also, it is not critical to the invention that the groove or otherretention area be at the very top of the inclined surface. One or moresuch retention areas or depressions 34 can be placed at virtually anypoint along the inclined surface. The exact points will depend on theprimary desired use for the device. Altemately, a series of steps formedby alternating an inclined surface with a level can also be employedwithin the scope of the invention.

It should also be mentioned that the exact angle of inclination of theinclined surface 32 is not critical, and will be chosen depending onfactors such as the desired height to which the bed is desirably raised,the height of the bed from the floor and the like.

Also, it will be apparent that certain other complicated equivalents tothose disclosed can be employed which do not provide substantialadvantages over the invention as disclosed. As an example, the inclinedsurface can be provided with ball bearings or rollers. Furthermore, theretention area provided for retaining the rolling means from moving backdown the inclined surface 32 can be provided with a circular rotatingarea to provide additional pivotal action.

The invention thus described provides a novel, yet

simple, economical device for the raising and rotating of beds. Variousmodifications are contemplated and may be resorted to by those skilledin the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas defined by the following appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a bed and moving device comprising:

an inclined surface;

means for supporting said inclined surface; curved a rolling memberdesigned for travel along said inclined surface;

a bed frame attachment; and,

a connector for connecting said rolling member and said bed frame at asubstantially central position on said frame wherein said bed frame canbe supported by said inclined surface when said rolling member is rolledtherealong thereby causing said frame to be elevated and supportedthereon.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

guide means along said inclined surface; and wherein said connectorcomprises a rod.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said rolling member is a ball and socket.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 2 further comprising:

a telescoping tubular member for said rod; and,

means in said inclined surface to prevent the rolling member fromrolling down the inclined surface.

5. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said connector is pivotably connected to said rolling member.

6. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said connector is pivotably connected to said bed frame attachment.

7. The combination as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

said means preventing rolling comprises a level area with a transverseridge.

8. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rolling preventionmeans comprises:

a depression in said inclined surface for retaining said rolling member.

9. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said inclined surface has a generally urved cross section across theangle of inclination.

10. The combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

said support means comprises a box with the inclined surface forming anupper surface thereof; and, said guide means comprises a slotsubstantially running the length of the inclined surface. 11. Thecombination as claimed in claim 10 further com-prising:

a handle on said bed frame; and wherein, said box includes a projectionof the lower surface thereof beyond the side wall at the top of theinclined surface. 12. The combination as claimed in claim 1 furthercomprising:

at least two retention surfaces on said inclined surface.

1. The combination of a bed and moving device comprising: an inclinedsurface; means for supporting said inclined surface; curved a rollingmember designed for travel along said inclined surface; a bed frameattachment; and, a connector for connecting said rolling member and saidbed frame at a substantially central position on said frame wherein saidbed frame can be supported by said inclined surface when said rollingmember is rolled therealong thereby causing said frame to be elevatedand supported thereon.
 2. The cOmbination as claimed in claim 1 furthercomprising: guide means along said inclined surface; and wherein saidconnector comprises a rod.
 3. The combination as claimed in claim 1wherein: said rolling member is a ball and socket.
 4. The combination asclaimed in claim 2 further comprising: a telescoping tubular member forsaid rod; and, means in said inclined surface to prevent the rollingmember from rolling down the inclined surface.
 5. The combination asclaimed in claim 1 wherein: said connector is pivotably connected tosaid rolling member.
 6. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein:said connector is pivotably connected to said bed frame attachment. 7.The combination as claimed in claim 6 wherein: said means preventingrolling comprises a level area with a transverse ridge.
 8. Thecombination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rolling prevention meanscomprises: a depression in said inclined surface for retaining saidrolling member.
 9. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein: saidinclined surface has a generally urved cross section across the angle ofinclination.
 10. The combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein: saidsupport means comprises a box with the inclined surface forming an uppersurface thereof; and, said guide means comprises a slot substantiallyrunning the length of the inclined surface.
 11. The combination asclaimed in claim 10 further com-prising: a handle on said bed frame; andwherein, said box includes a projection of the lower surface thereofbeyond the side wall at the top of the inclined surface.
 12. Thecombination as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: at least tworetention surfaces on said inclined surface.